Startup-Sprint Food

….and again, we are welcomed at „Startup Sprint“. This time it’s all about food – from food tech to recycling, e-food and innovative packaging.

07. November 2016 Düsseldorf

Startup Sprint Food, Düsseldorf 28. – 30. October

This time „Startup Sprint“ was hosted by Sipgate. The name probably sounds familiar to a lot of you. No wonder - Sipgate is a frequent guest in our social media posts. And there is a very good reason why: too much knowledge doesn't exist, especially when it is shared by Sipgaters Friederieke and Lars, whose scrum-workshops are beloved by our accelerator class.

Good food good mood? No one could deny that Sipgate mastered the both. Creating a thrilling atmosphere, it welcomed a bunch of inventive minds and let them fusion the industry of food. Reducing stress was also taken into account: table-football, table-tennis and comfy breakout rooms did a great job by taking tension off participants’ shoulders.

On Friday night the place started to buzz. From small talks to in-depth politic debates, the getting to know each other part began. It didn't take long, however, until the talks moved to a very topic everyone had a passion for - food.
After numerous chit chats, the first pitches began. Eight participants stepped up to present their ideas on the stage to form teams for the weekend to come. That’s when the real game began.

Lazy Saturday morning was not the goal of the weekend. Actually, quite the opposite. From early morning onwards teams started working on their business models. One can be said for sure - ideas roared. From bags to innovative restaurants - any direct or indirect connection to the food industry was worth a go.

Sunday morning started with an excitement in the air. Counting hours before the final pitches began, participants put last touches to their work. While some were running through the hall with a Börek dough, the others tried to put their brand new logo on kitchen aprons or memorise catchy opening lines. Tension could be felt. But that’s what pitching is all about.
From eight ideas presented on Friday, six survived until Sunday afternoon and were ready to be presented to the jury: Inga Land (E.ON :agile accelerator), Fabio Ziemßen (efood-Blog), Günther Rodemeyer (FoodAngels), Hans-Peter Schwemin (Brauerei Kürzer) and Hendrik Neumann (chefkoch.de).

Not a single chair in the hall was left unseated. Excitement of pitchers, their supporters and other creative souls took over the room. And the pitches began.

Pitches were assessed by specific criteria: business model, design, implementation, innovation and a pitch itself. The jury members had an opportunity to appoint points one to five, five being the highest. Three categories have been awarded at the end: "Best Pitch", "Most Innovative" and “Best Overall".

"Löffelweise Suppen” deserved the title of the “Best Pitch” this time. A well-structured presentation, visual material and very good arguments left none of the jury members unconvinced. Well that, and impressive self-designed kitchen aprons.

Phychopharm proved to be the “Most Innovative” one. Based on 20 years of research, the team provided a solution to improve the production of natural astaxanthin - a pigment mainly used for dyeing salmon - and its application.

The prize of the “Best Overall" was proudly given to the sympathetic duo "Roll n Roll". Their business idea let customers prepare a Börek according to their own preferences, or as the duo called it - customise it themselves.

"Pitching is a process of learning, not only when it comes to participants, but also when it comes to us," says a jury member Inga Land. "Now I know that börek isn't only known in Germany by it's turkish name, but also worldwide: not that many cookeries can call more than 27 countries home."